President Lincoln's Attitude towards Slavery and Emancipation: With a Review of Events before and since the Civil War

President Lincoln's Attitude towards Slavery and Emancipation: With a Review of Events before and since the Civil War

Excerpt

It is nearly half a century since the untimely death of President Lincoln, and during all these years he has steadily grown in popular favor. Because of his having come from the ranks of the common people, plus the crown of martyrdom forced upon him, he probably appeals to the general imagination more than any other man in our history. In a nation-wide referendum for the selection of the typical American, it is likely Lincoln would receive a large majority. But any attempt to make him out a sort of superman would be unjust to his character. It is easy to imagine with what fine scorn and apt stories he would repel any attempt to place him on a pedestal and Hellenize him as a demigod. It is therefore with an intensely human Lincoln that we wish to deal.

The original purpose in making this book was simply to consider the evolution of Lincoln's mind in approaching the emancipation proclamation, with such personal estimates of his contemporaries as would show the manner and method of the man as he dealt with the great problem, the solution of which was committed to him. The study of the case, however, grew in interest as we proceeded. Since the work was begun conditions have developed in our country which seem to demand that the case be brought down to date, rather than . . .

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